Blossoming Desire
by Haunted Veela
Summary: Ara Devrys-Myrddin; descendant of Merlin. This is her life at Hogwarts; from her first crush to her eventual relationship with troubled Draco; from her private lessons with Snape to participating in the Triwizard Tournament. One things for sure – Ara has many adventures ahead of her! Eventually Draco/OC.
1. First Year 1: The Hogwarts Express

Skipping ahead of her parents, Araminta Devrys-Myrddin did not try to fight the grin slowly spread across her face. Over the summer, she had been counting down the days until the 1st of September, which she knew would be the most magical day of her life. It was the day that she finally would join Hogwarts.

She stopped right before the wall where she knew she would have to run through in order to reach Platform 9 and ¾. Behind her, Katherine Myrddin and Vexadus Devrys were walking side by side, smiling at their excited young daughter.

"Dad, dad, do we have to run through this wall?" Araminta, also known as Ara, asked excitedly, bouncing up and down.

Vexadus smiled, trying to hush her. "Quieten down, Ara, in case a Muggle overhears us. Now, just run straight at the wall and don't stop. You won't crash."

Ara took a step back, then ran as fast as she could at the wall. Closing her eyes and half expecting impact, she arrived on the other side quite unharmed, and opened her eyes again. Grinning again at the sight of the magnificent train, she barely noticed her parents joining her seconds later.

"There's only a few minutes until you board the train," Katherine said to Ara. "Now, are you sure you have everything-"

"Kath, don't fret. She'll be fine," Vexadus said reassuringly, dropping a kiss on his wife's forehead. "I'll take your luggage over the train, I won't be a moment-"He wheeled the trolley away, and Katherine stood looking anxious for a second, before spotting one of her friends.

"Molly!" Katherine rushed over to the short, ginger woman and embraced her fondly, as Ara followed awkwardly. "How good to see you again! Ah, I see your youngest son is off to Hogwarts for the first time too!"

"Ron's so looking forward to it, aren't you dear?" the woman named Molly said, gazing fondly at her son, who looked slightly moody but made an effort to smile.

"This is my daughter, Araminta," Katherine said, turning round to find her daughter. "Ara! Say hello to Molly Weasley, she was my best friend at Hogwarts!"

Ara smiled at Molly, who beamed at her.

"How are you my dear? Excited for school?"

Nodding, Ara glanced at her son. He looked awkward too, and was shifting slightly, avoiding eye contact deliberately. As he didn't seem too friendly, Ara glanced around at the other kids on the platform. Everyone else looked as happy as she felt, and as soon as her father returned with the empty trolley, it was time to board the train.

After a long, heartfelt goodbye, Ara climbed up onto the train. With one last wave, she dithered awkwardly, looking for a place to sit.

"Hey."

It was the miserable son of Molly Weasley, only now he looked shy and awkward too. Ara smiled encouragingly at him.

"I can't find anywhere, can you?"

"I'm not really sure where to sit," Ara admitted. "Shall we find somewhere together?"

The boy nodded. "I'm Ron Weasley."

"I'm Araminta, but it's a stupid name, so just call me Ara." Ron nodded, with the faintest hint of a smile. Together, they went down the train, but ran into some unfriendly older students, so travelled back up again.

"Slytherins. They're all really horrible," Ron said wisely to Ara. She nodded, though was unsure of whether or not it was true. After all, her most famous descendant Merlin was in Slytherin. He was the greatest sorcerer of all time, too.

"I think we'll have to go in here," Ara said, nodding to an almost empty compartment. The only person sat there was someone who she recognised to be Harry Potter, having grown up hearing his name. She was fascinated by him, so was keen to sit by him. Ron also nodded, and went in first.

"Excuse me, do you mind? Everywhere else is full," Ron asked him. Harry gestured to the seat in front of him.

"Not at all," Harry said politely, staring at him, then at Ara who followed him in. They took a seat opposite him. Ara tried not to stare at his forehead. Instead, she took in his somewhat dishevelled appearance – oversized clothes and messy hair, not to mention that he looked slightly malnourished.

"I'm Ron by the way, Ron Weasley," Ron told Harry.

"I'm Ara."

"I'm Harry. Harry Potter."

Ron's eyes widened. "So it's true? Do you really have the-the-"

Harry looked very confused. "The what?"

Ara knew what was coming, and automatically felt bad for him; he was already being questioned on his scar and most likely his parents.

"The scar," Ron whispered, as if the words were taboo. Harry grinned, pulling up his fringe. Ara too stared in interest at it.

They were interrupted by an elderly lady selling sweet from the trolley. They paused to buy a little bit of everything, though Ron had no money. At once, Ara and Harry offered to share.

Over their feast, they discussed their lives, interests and what to expect from Hogwarts. By the time the train had stopped, they had become firm friends. Feeling a bit happier now, Ara smiled as she got up, now having high hopes for her first year at Hogwarts.


	2. First Year 2: Meetings and Glimpses

Glancing down at her new robes before clambering off the train, Ara couldn't ever remember feeling so excited before. They all stepped down from the train onto the platform, the First Years all huddled together, unsure of where to go.

"Firs'-years! Firs' years, follow me! Over here!"

A large, hairy man was holding a lantern, looking out for the smaller students. Upon seeing Harry, he grinned.

"All right there Harry?"

Harry nodded and smiled, looking relieved at a familiar face.

"That must be Hagrid. My brothers told me all about him," Ron said. After the long train journey, Ara now knew that he had five brothers, and a little sister called Ginny at home.

"Mind yer step now! Firs'-years, follow me!"

They all followed Hagrid down a dark, steep and narrow path. It was all quite strange, and yet quite exciting. No-one spoke as they attempted to navigate their way through.

"Now for yer first sight of Hogwarts!" Hagrid said, and he turned impressively to reveal the vast castle with many turrets and glittering windows. It was astonishing, and amazing.

"Wow," Ara breathed. "It's amazing!"

"No more'n four to a boat," Hagrid called, gesturing to some tiny boats floating gently in the lake. Ara pushed through to be with Ron and Harry, but a bushy-haired girl called Hermione and her new friend Neville got there first. Sighing, Ara went to join a small, blond boy with his two thickset friends. They didn't look very friendly so she ignored them determinedly, pulling a face at Harry and Ron.

"Forward!" Hagrid shouted, and the boats moved forwards in the water all by themselves. No-one noticed however, for they were staring intently at the magnificent castle.

"Hello," a quiet voice said next to her. She turned, startled, to see the blond boy staring intently at her.

"I'm Draco Malfoy. This is Crabbe, and Goyle." They were too busy staring at the castle to even notice. "So, what house do you hope to be sorted into?"

"Urm… Gryffindor or Ravenclaw," Ara said, privately hoping for Ravenclaw but doubting that she'd have the intelligence for that house. "How about you?"

"My whole family was in Slytherin," Draco said proudly. Ara couldn't help but think about her own family; Merlin himself was a Slytherin. They couldn't all have been bad, if Merlin was sorted into that house.

"Some of mine were too," Ara replied, which seemed to impress him. "I'm Ara by the way. Ara Devrys." It wasn't safe to use her full name; it was to be kept a secret that she was a descendant of Merlin.

"The castle is fantastic, isn't it?" Draco said, gazing up at it. One of the other boys grunted in agreement.

"Yes," Ara said softly. "Yes, it is." She stared at it, imagining lessons, meals, Quidditch and sleeping in dormitories. It all seemed too good to be true.

Nothing more was said until they reached the other side of the lake, as the pair of them were still staring up in wonder at Hogwarts.

"I hope we both get sorted into Slytherin," Draco said, as they trekked up to the castle. (By now, it was so dark that Ara couldn't see Ron or Harry).

"Mm, maybe," Ara replied, privately wishing for Ravenclaw or maybe Gryffindor. Hufflepuff wasn't so bad either… But in Slytherin, there was a higher chance of her secret being discovered. They were sly, cunning people… and Ara was neither sly nor cunning.

The First Years were taken to a large chamber inside the castle. It was quite cold, so they huddled together nervously. A tall, stern looking witch had spoken to them before disappearing briefly.

During this time, Draco decided to draw unwanted attention to Harry and then insulted Ron. Just as Ara was about to interject, Harry coolly declined his friendship, and she edged away from the blonde boy; already she was going off him. Draco looked at her for a second, but she looked away uncomfortably. He scoffed and went back to the two large boys.

She looked at Harry, who looked extremely uncomfortable and unhappy at the attention he had received. It made her realise that no matter what, her identity had to be concealed as much as possible...

The stern witch returned and led them all into the Great Hall. Ara wasn't the only one who gasped upon sight; even though she'd been told all about it, it was more breathtaking in real life. The stars twinkled down upon them reassuringly, and hundreds of candles lit up the hall, bobbing up and down gently.

Once the students reached the staff table, they crowded round a stool sat just before the Headmaster. Although Ara couldn't see past the boys in front of her, she knew what was sat there, for her parents had told her everything about Hogwarts. It was the Sorting Hat.


End file.
